CBS Sports ignited controversy when it pulled a song by domestic violence survivor Rihanna during the Sept. 11 Ravens-Steelers game. The network hoped to take an "appropriate tone" to discuss the NFL's failure and reluctance to properly punish Ray Rice for beating his then-fiancee -- but CBS just added fuel to the fire, further shaming domestic violence survivors and effectively punishing Rihanna for the NFL's failures.
Please sign the petition to tell CBS to apologize and create a policy to prevent victim-shaming domestic violence survivors!
After CBS announced it had pulled the song during the Sept. 11 broadcast and then expressed interest in keeping the song on air the following week, Rihanna fired back on Twitter: "CBS you pulled my song last week, now you wanna slide it back in this Thursday? NO, F*** you! Y'all are sad for penalizing me for this."
The sports channel responded by pulling the song from the network’s Thursday Night Football broadcasts for the rest of the season. The network created new music to replace her.
The NFL suspended Ray Rice for just two games after it was discovered he punched his wife in an elevator. Other football players have been suspended for an entire season just for smoking marijuana. It took a viral video of the beating for the NFL to finally fire Rice.
At every step of the way, the NFL and supporters like CBS have mishandled punishment for domestic violence and now, CBS is further shaming survivors.
Tell CBS to apologize and create a policy to prevent victim-shaming domestic violence survivors!
